Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't by Josie Long

5 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I found this short story collection (of sixteen) to be just alright and wouldn’t really recommend it on the whole. I hadn’t heard about the author (and stand up comedian) Josie Long before seeing this as an audiobook on BorrowBox, it sounded interesting so thought I’d give it a go. There’s some stories that were decently curated and I get the sense Long is trying to put forward her personal views in some way in them but really most fell flat. My favourite was 2021, 2021 but thinking back and writing this review three weeks later I can’t really remember exactly, all I know is it follows the survivor of an abusive relationship and I believe she comes into contact with her ex (the abuser) and how it was quite tense. On the other end, cold and brazen was by far my least favourite which follows a middle aged dad who wants to get in with the younger generation but is a creep and just ugh I didn’t care for him nor the story in the slightest. The last story, I don’t know was also not too bad but again I don’t know (hehe see what I did there) why?? There’s also recurring mentions of drug use in a number of the stories which I personally don’t like reading about. The writing and Long’s craft does leave a little to be desired with some more editing having been beneficial. Anywho… I don’t think I’ll be reading any more by this author but it was good to check her out. 

Individual ratings: 

A good day - 3
We decided to leave London - 2.5 
A little dirty thing - 2.5 
Forgetting - 3.25
Dallas - 2.5
Poets rise - 3
2021, 2021 - 4 
Cold and brazen - 1.25
Just an informal chat - 2.5
Volunteering - 2.5
What you could’ve done - 2.75
Poets rise again - 2.75
Between - 2.75 
A photo taken at a small town museum - 2.75
The patron saint of lost causes - 2.75
I don’t know - 3.75 

Average rating - 2.78 
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rhi_'s review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

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questingnotcoasting's review

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

3.5

I wasn't sure what to expect from these stories but I ended up enjoying nearly all of them. They're funny, but not in the way I thought they'd be and they're all quite weird. They mostly don't follow a story arc but are just just short glimpses into people's lives. The whole collection focuses on human experiences like loneliness and connection and there are also running themes of capitalism and power. Despite some bleak topics, I still found some of the endings quite hopeful and overall I'm definitely glad I read it. 
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rworrall78's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Each one a treasure with a  beautifully expressed truth at its heart. It's funny and angry at the same time. Josie Long beautifully captures the angst of relationships as well as the joy. She also makes so abundantly clear how capitalism and power are ruining everything. The final story is so wonderful, about the absolutely paralyzing fear that can come with bringing a child into this world at this moment but also bout hope and love and motherhood. 
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introvertsbookclub's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.0

A wide-ranging collection of essays that returns to the same themes from different perspectives and vantage points. Long takes issues that feel too big to think around and turns them into personal stories of resistance, hope or exhaustion. From the rent crisis, government corruption and environmental ruin, to domestic abuse, broken families, and heartbreak, her vignettes peer into quiet lives and imagine the highs and lows they are experiencing. Her cast of character include parasitic landlords, over-worked renters, sleepy mothers, curious children, people on the cusp of love and people on the tail-end of it. Long’s writing calls out the big guys and sticks up for the small guys, but most of all it says that life is hard but it doesn’t have to be cruel and it doesn’t have to be hopeless.
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